Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute! Episode 17 Recap & Characters (Spoiler-Free)

Episode Summary

Moonlight That Pierces the Darkness

Cid, lured by Skel's bounty plan on Rose, avoids his sister Claire and wanders town; he hears Epsilon's concert and recognizes the Moonlight Sonata, learning she plagiarized his music. Rose, hiding in the tunnels under the Royal Capital after being ordered by Perv to surrender before the Bushin Festival, hears the same sonata and meets Shadow, who heals her possession and grants her power. Alexia and Beta track Perv's Cult ties into the tunnels, and Rose defeats Alexia and flees.

• Cid's bounty plan and sister avoidance

  Skel proposes hunting Rose for the reward, and Cid sneaks out the window to avoid Claire.

• Epsilon's concert and the stolen sonata

  Cid finds Epsilon performing the Moonlight Sonata he taught her, learns she has gained influential connections, and leaves having planned to reward her.

• Rose's tunnel escape and Shadow's power

  Rose, wounded by possession after Perv's ultimatum, follows the piano to Shadow, who heals her and grants power, and she defeats Cult assassins.

• Alexia and Beta confront Rose

  Alexia and Beta reach the tunnels, Rose refuses to explain and defeats Alexia, and Beta lets her go.

Recent Timeline

• Sanctuary destroyed and Aurora's fading (Episode 14)

  Cid defeats the Olivier copies and casts I Am The All-Range Atomic, whose blast obliterates the Sanctuary, the holy sword, the chained door, and Nelson. Epsilon reports the destruction to Alpha, who notes Nelson's death and calls the outcome the simplest and most effective solution. Aurora confesses that she called Cid into the Sanctuary and lied about other things, thanks him for a memory she does not want to forget, and fully fades away, after which Cid takes his leave.

• Cid's disguise and the Bushin Festival bouts (Episode 15)

  With Gamma's staff and Eta's machine, Cid adopts the Mundane Mann persona, a lazy, disowned Dark Knight, using a realistic slime mask to enter the Bushin Festival unseen. Quinton, angered by Mundane's taunts, beats him in an alley until Annerose orders him to stop, after Cid chooses to take the beating. Rose is reported to have stabbed her fiancé Perv Asshat before fleeing, shocking Cid. In the preliminary bout, Gonzales Machom falls within a second and Mundane is declared winner, disappointing the crowd while Annerose sees him land two quick chin punches.

• Mundane defeats Goldy and Quinton (Episode 16)

  Goldy attacks Mundane, who dodges by cracking his neck; Goldy conjures a golden dragon and charges, but is blown away by Mundane's sneeze. Annerose notes Mundane's speed exceeds normal human limits. The next day Mundane easily beats Quinton, who had pursued him over his unseen tactics. His mysterious entry and dark-horse odds draw attention across the tournament.

• Perv's ultimatum and Rose's first fight against the Cult (Episode 17)

  After Rose attacks Perv and is branded mad by the guards, Perv orders her to surrender before the Bushin Festival or he will have her father kill one of his guests, and Rose weighs surrender to avoid war. Once Shadow heals her possession and leaves, several Cult assassins attack, and Rose easily defeats them with her newly evolved power, marking her shift from fleeing to actively fighting the Cult.

• Rose's escape from the Royal Capital tunnels (Episode 17)

  Rose defeats Alexia in the tunnels under the Royal Capital and flees, refusing to explain her actions so as not to drag Alexia into the conflict. Beta lets her go, hoping their ideals may be the same and that they will meet again before long.

Character Graph

Lutheran Barnett (Cult Knight)

Midgar Academy of Science · Cult

Sherry's father and Assistant Principal of the Midgar Academy of Science, who was secretly the Cult Knight. Seeking a cure for his illness, he killed Sherry's mother Lukreia for her Eye of Avarice research and used Sherry for his own ends, and was cut down by Shadow when the Cult seized the academy.

• Role in Sherry's assignment

  Encourages Sherry to accept the princess's request, believing she can do it and building her self-confidence.

• True identity

  Recognized on sight by Cid as the Cult knight, he removes his helmet and wonders whether his walk, cough or stance gave him away.

• Motive

  Sought a cure for his disease and used Sherry for selfish reasons.

• Death

  Killed by Shadow after combining the Eye of Avarice with the control unit artifact and attacking Shadow.

Alexia Midgar

Midgar royal family · Royal · Crimson Knights

Princess of Midgar and Iris's younger sister, who once used Cid as a fake boyfriend and has since sworn an alliance with Rose and Natsume (Beta). Chasing proof of Perv's Cult ties with Natsume, she finds Rose in the tunnels under the capital, but Rose refuses to explain herself and defeats her.

• Fencing reputation

  Known as The Fencing Ordinaire; has always wanted to be as good as her sister.

• Cid relationship

  Asked Cid whether he was interested in continuing their pretend relationship; Cid refused, and she slashed him.

• Audit

  Was investigating the previous archbishop, and the audit is cancelled by the new acting archbishop Jack Nelson.

• Cid Kagenou (Pact, Other, Neutral)

  Fake boyfriend she chose as a low-class aristocrat she could easily control, so she could get out of her engagement.

  Former partner in a pretend relationship that was arranged for specific reasons and has since ended.

• Beta (Other, Hostility)

  Antagonism begins at the Trial when Alexia stomps on Natsume's foot; Alexia sees Natsume as corrupt on the inside.

Alpha

Shadow Garden

An elf girl Cid freed from possession and renamed, who now leads Shadow Garden against the Cult of Diablos and shares the face of the hero Olivier. When Beatrix says she is searching for her late sister's daughter, Cid is reminded of Alpha but denies knowing anyone like that.

• Role

  Recruits for the organization and leads the search for the hideout

• Operations

  Observes the progress of the Shadow Garden raid and oversees the operation's roles.

• Olivier's face

  Revealed to have the same face as the hero Olivier, who is shown as an elf woman in a statue.

• Cid Kagenou (Hierarchy, Colleague, Affinity)

  Leader who renamed her and whom she serves

  Visits Cid in his dorm to update him and watches over him, trusting him to trust their efforts.

• Epsilon (Hierarchy, Mixed)

  Shadow Garden leader giving instructions; Epsilon reminds Delta of the plan.

Aurora (the Demon Diablos)

Imprisoned in the Sanctuary · Demon

The Witch of Calamity, a woman imprisoned in the Sanctuary, whose other name Epsilon's report confirms to be the demon Diablos. She teamed up with Cid to escape, and after he destroyed the Sanctuary she admitted she had called him there, thanked him, and faded away.

• Arena fight

  Fights Shadow and is defeated by a single slash, then disappears into light.

• Escape plan

  Explains the Sanctuary is a memory prison and that its magical core must be destroyed to leave; plans to vanish into nothing once free.

• Identity revealed

  Epsilon confirms the theory that Aurora was the demon Diablos, and that she had another name.

• Final farewell

  Before fading completely, Aurora tells Cid what to do if he ever met the real her.

• Cid Kagenou (Colleague, Friend, Affinity)

  Fellow escapee who agreed to work together to leave; Aurora sees Cid as the strongest of those in her incomplete memories and a gallant knight.

  Aurora called Cid into the Sanctuary, confessed to having lied about other things, and thanked him for a memory she did not want to forget; Cid accepted this.

Quinton

Bushin Festival contestant

A veteran Bushin Festival contestant who looks down on weaker fighters and beat Mundane Mann in an alley until Annerose stopped him. In the tournament, he then loses easily to Mundane.

• Behavior

  Talks a big game and tells weaklings to go home.

• Annerose Nichtsehen (Hierarchy, Neutral)

  Stops fighting when she tells him to.

Annerose Nichtsehen (Annerose)

Bushin Festival contestant · Tournament participant

A skilled swordswoman competing in the Bushin Festival, who stopped Quinton from beating Mundane Mann in an alley. Watching Mundane's bouts closely, she realizes his speed is beyond human, and before their match she warns him he cannot beat her the same way.

• Trial

  Summoned an ancient warrior at the Goddess's Trial.

• Challenge to Mundane

  Confronts Mundane in the tunnel and warns she has seen all his moves.

• Quinton (Hierarchy, Colleague, Neutral)

  Admonished him to stop the attack, and he complied.

  Fellow observer who discusses Mundane's fights with her and rivals him.

Goldy Gilded (the Ever-Victorious)

Bushin Festival contestant · Tournament participant

A Bushin Festival contestant who calls himself the Ever-Victorious, rating fighters' battle power and forfeiting against anyone who might beat him. Openly irritated by Mundane Mann, he lost to him when a single sneeze blew away both Goldy and his golden dragon.

• Analysis

  Assigned Gonzales Machom a battle power of 1,364 and Mundane Mann a battle power of 33.

• Forfeits

  Has forfeited matches against possible threats rather than risk defeat.

• Skel Etal (Friend, Affinity)

  Impressed Skel with his analysis.

Cid Kagenou (Eminence in Shadow)

Kagenou family · Shadow Garden · Midgar academy student · Academy · Midgar Academy for Dark Knights · Tournament participant

Reborn in another world, he dreams of being the Eminence in Shadow and leads Shadow Garden as the masked Shadow while posing as an unremarkable Midgar Academy student. While fighting in the Bushin Festival as Mundane Mann, he dodges his sister Claire and discovers that Epsilon has passed off the Moonlight Sonata he taught her as her own. As Shadow, he plays that sonata in the tunnels under the capital, where he heals Rose's possession and gives her power.

• Hidden strength

  Trains in secret while posing as a background character at school; a skilled fighter who uses crowbars and other improvised weapons as clubs.

• Trial appearance

  Enters the Goddess' Trial as Shadow after the announcer calls his name, and defeats Aurora with a single slash.

• Sanctuary entry

  Pulled into the Sanctuary after a magical door appeared above the water he stood upon, and entered after failing to avoid it.

• Encounter with Beatrix

  Beatrix suspects he knows an elf and tests him with a sword strike, then leaves praising his potential.

• Alpha (Hierarchy, Colleague, Affinity)

  Girl he freed from possession and renamed; she pledged to join and punish the guilty

  Shadow Garden member who visits his dorm and reports on the organization's progress; he owes her a tuna sandwich.

• Beta (Colleague, Affinity)

  Member who reports to him and works the investigation with him

• Alexia Midgar (Pact, Other, Neutral)

  Fake boyfriend who agreed to continue the act until Zenon gives up.

  Met again at the hot springs in Lindwurm; she apologized for slashing him, and he ignores her gaze while she is flustered and then puzzled by his riddle about the sword.

• Skel Etal (Friend, Affinity)

  Friend who confronted him about his dating progress.

• Rose Oriana (Other, Neutral)

  Opponent in the qualifying match who now remembers his name.

  Rose secretly entered Cid into the Trial to show off his worth, and Cid decides how to appear in response.

• Lutheran Barnett (Other, Neutral)

  Assistant Principal of the Academy of Science, whom Cid considers someone to avoid if he wants to stay obscure.

• Aurora (Colleague, Affinity)

  Works with Aurora to escape the Sanctuary; she regards him as a gallant knight.

Perv Asshat

Oriana Kingdom

Son of an Oriana Kingdom duke and Rose's fiancé, whom she stabbed before fleeing. Rose's memories reveal that he holds her father, King Raphael, under his control, is tied to the Cult, and ordered her to surrender before the Bushin Festival or her father would kill one of his guests. Beta and Alexia are now chasing proof of his Cult ties.

• Position

  Son of an Oriana Kingdom duke; the kingdom wants the matter handled domestically.

Skel Etal (Skel)

Lower nobility · Bushin Festival spectator

Cid's friend, a low-ranking noble at Midgar Academy, who has sunk into gambling during the Bushin Festival. Desperate for money, he drags Cid into a plan to hunt down Rose for the reward on her head.

• Betting

  Gathers data for better bets and begs Cid for savings to wager on Goldy.

• Gambling

  Continues feeding a gambling addiction and writes to Po for funds, which Po denies.

• Cid Kagenou (Friend, Affinity)

  Close friend from the bottom of the noble ranks; they confront Cid about his dating progress.

  Friend who keeps refusing to fund his bets.

• Goldy Gilded (Friend, Affinity)

  Fascinated by Goldy's data analysis.

Beta (Natsume Kafka)

Shadow Garden

One of Shadow Garden's Seven Shadows, who allied with Alexia and Rose while posing as the bestselling author Natsume Kafka. Investigating Perv's suspected Cult ties with Alexia, she follows Rose into the tunnels under the capital and lets her go after Rose defeats Alexia, sensing that their ideals may be the same.

• Role

  Gathers intelligence and identifies the secret hideout

• Infiltration of princesses

  Reported by Epsilon to be working with the princesses, likely to infiltrate their inner circles.

• Current focus

  Directs monitoring of Rose's movements and orders more intel on Perv Asshat.

• Cult investigation

  Working the case of Rose's hiding place and suspecting Perv Asshat's ties to the Cult.

• Cid Kagenou (Colleague, Affinity)

  Fellow member who reports to him on the investigation

• Alexia Midgar (Other, Colleague, Affinity)

  Looks down on Alexia with superiority and is secretly annoyed at how Alexia used Cid; believes Alexia is corrupt inside.

  Shares information and goes into the tunnels together; her alliance with Alexia is reconsidered as a good idea.

• Rose Oriana (Colleague, Affinity)

  Joins Rose and Alexia in forming a team and pooling resources.

Epsilon

One of the Seven Shadows, to whom Cid taught piano pieces from his past life. Passing them off as her own compositions, she has won fame and influential connections, especially in the Oriana Kingdom, and tells Cid that Rose is hiding in the tunnels under the capital.

• Music career

  Received rewards for her music composition and gained connections with influential people, especially in the Oriana Kingdom.

• Beta (Friend, Affinity)

  Teases Beta about Shadow's gazes, sharing a sense of being watched because of their large busts.

• Cid Kagenou (Mentor, Mixed)

  Taught her piano pieces; she claims them as her own compositions while Cid is happy she enjoys something he likes.

Rose Oriana

Student Council President · Oriana Kingdom · princess · knight

Princess of the Oriana Kingdom and Student Council President of Midgar Academy, regarded as its finest swordswoman, who took up the sword after a boy rescued her as a child. A fugitive since stabbing her fiancé Perv, she learns he is tied to the Cult, controls her father, King Raphael, and demands she surrender before the Bushin Festival. In the tunnels under the capital, Shadow heals her possession and gives her power, and she beats Cult assassins and Alexia without explaining herself.

• Engagement

  Engaged to Perv Asshat, whom her father is set to introduce.

• Flight

  Stabbed her fiancé Perv Asshat and ran away.

• Fugitive status

  Her father's vacant stare and the guards' sinister smiles led her to attack Perv; she was ordered by Perv to turn herself in before the Bushin Festival or a guest would be killed by her father.

• Possession

  Suffering from Possession, she was healed by Shadow and now refuses to explain her actions to Alexia.

• Cid Kagenou (Other, Friend, Affinity)

  Opponent in the qualifying match; underestimated him at first, then got serious and was impressed by his determination.

  Her time with Cid is recalled with regret; she feels that marrying and living with him would have been a dream.

• Perv Asshat (Pact, Hostility)

  Fiancé; she stabbed him before running away.

World Memo

• Heroes' descendants cursed as possessed

  The Three Heroes who slew the demon Diablos were cursed by its dying breath, and their bloodlines were marked as possessed; history was later altered to make the descendants objects of scorn.

  The royal family carries a higher concentration of hero's blood in their veins than others, which is why the Cult targets their blood

• Cult sect faction hideouts

  The Cult is divided into sect factions, with the Fenrir sect faction maintaining hideouts spread across the capital

• Royal capital underground tunnels

  Beneath the royal capital lie underground tunnels and sewers that can be used for combat and that can crack under heavy blows.

  The underground passages beneath the Royal Capital form a maze, so a route in is not a reliable route out and people must retrace their path to leave.

• Cult entrenched in the kingdom

  The Cult's roots within the Oriana Kingdom run deep enough that removing one member does not end its influence, and its presence threatens the kingdom's politics and its delicate ties with the church.

Clue Board

• Rose stabbed her fiancé (Episode 15)

  A newspaper reports that Rose stabbed her fiancé, Perv Asshat, before running away; Cid is left wondering why she would do it.

• Hidden hand behind Rose affair (Episode 16)

  Alexia and Beta sense someone is pulling strings behind the Oriana matter, which Oriana wants handled as a domestic issue without Midgar's interference.

• Beatrix search for late sister's daughter (Episode 16)

  Beatrix is searching for the daughter of her late sister and asks Cid whether he has seen someone who resembles her. Cid is reminded of Alpha but denies it.

• Mundane's unseen speed (Episode 16)

  Mundane defeated Gonzales Machom and Goldy Gilded in ways spectators could not follow. In the Gonzales bout, Annerose saw only his right hand move, and she judges it a speed no normal human could have, but the mechanism remains unconfirmed.

• Perv suspected of working with the Cult (Episode 17)

  Beta suspects Perv Asshat is working with the Cult, and Alexia wants hard evidence of his involvement given the political stakes with the church.

• King's vacant stare and guards' sinister smiles (Episode 17)

  Rose noticed the king's vacant stare and the guards' sinister smiles, suggesting the king and guards were under the control of Perv and the Cult.

• Surrender demand before the festival (Episode 17)

  Perv ordered Rose to turn herself in before the Bushin Festival, threatening that her father would have one of his guests killed otherwise; Rose wonders whether turning herself in is best, since it may avoid a war.

• Rose possession-like behavior (Episode 17)

  Surveillance reports describe Rose's physical actions as sounding like possession, and Beta orders continued monitoring of even small changes.

  Shadow's magic heals Rose of her possession, which resolves the earlier question of her possession-like behavior, though how and why remain unexplained.

Battle Record

Rose defeats Cult assassins and then Alexia in the tunnels under the Royal Capital, then flees.

Mundane vs Quinton

Tournament bout · Episode 16

Location: Tournament

Trigger: Tournament pairing

Combatants

• Mundane Mann — Fighter: Mundane Mann
• Quinton — Fighter: Quinton

Outcome: Mundane Mann wins easily

Aftermath

• Crowd analyzes Mundane's mysterious entry and dark horse odds

Rose's Underground Escape

Running battle with Oriana dark knights · Episode 16– (Ongoing)

Location: Underground labyrinth beneath the capital

Trigger: Oriana dark knights pursue Rose to capture her

Sides

• Rose Oriana — Fugitive: Rose Oriana
• Oriana Dark Knights — Pursuers: Oriana dark knights

Aftermath

• One knight is left needing medical attention
• Rose flees deeper into the labyrinth

Tunnel clash with Cult assassins

Royal Capital tunnels · Episode 17

Location: Tunnels under the Royal Capital

Trigger: Cult assassins arrive after Shadow leaves Rose

Rose vs Cult assassins, then a separate duel with Alexia

• Rose Oriana — fighter: Rose Oriana
• Cult assassins and, separately, Alexia — assassins: Cult assassins / duelist (separate fight): Alexia Midgar

Outcome: Rose defeats the assassins and Alexia, then leaves Alexia to Beta and flees

Aftermath

• Rose flees the tunnels
• Alexia is left to Beta

Ability Table

Music Releases

• HIGHEST (OP)
• Darling in the Night (Epsilon ver.) (ED)
• Darling in the Night (Delta ver.) (ED)
• Darling in the Night (Alpha ver.) (ED)